State High Court: Probate Code Requires Witnesses To Sign Will Before Testator's Death

Today, the California Supreme Court held that when a witness signs a will after the testator's death, the will violates the Probate Code (section 6110). Declining to follow the trend of other jurisdictions, the court, in one of Justice Carol Corrigan's first opinions since her recent appointment, concluded that any other result would "allow the validity of a will to depend upon the will or caprice of one who had been requested to perform the very simple act of becoming a witness by allowing such a person to wait until after the testator’s death to decide whether or not to subscribe his or her signature to the will. Such an interpretation would invite fraud and subvert the basic intent of will authentication requirements." Estate of Saueresig, Case No. S129110.